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Docker & Self-Hosting

WhyGraph ships as one self-contained image, and the portal runs from it. The same image serves two kinds of driver - you at a browser and an editor, or an application over MCP.

  • As a local dev tool

    Install the Docker shim, start the portal with whygraph up, and add your repos from the browser - no Python or Node on the host. This is the default install.

    Run with Docker

  • As a service

    The portal container is a long-lived service with an HTTP MCP endpoint per project that real applications - not just editors - connect to for git-based analysis of a repo.

    WhyGraph as a service

  • For a team, in production

    Production mode adds accounts, sessions and one address per organization (<org>.<your host>), behind a Caddy with a wildcard certificate. A compose bundle ships in the repository.

    Run in production

Most people start with the local tool. Reach for the service model when you're building an application that needs the why behind code - a review bot, an onboarding assistant, an internal portal.